Kale Manchego Cheese and Walnut Salad

Jump to RecipePrint RecipeThis Kale Salad with Manchego Cheese and Walnuts makes a complete meal in a bowl. Summertime is salad time, but this Kale, Manchego Cheese and Walnut Salad could be enjoyed during the darkest days of winter, too. It’s healthy, hearty, and so full of protein that it makes a complete meal in a bowl. Tossed with a creamy Caesar dressing, this is a recipe I’ve made over and over again.

This Kale Salad would make an ideal Mason Jar salad to pack for lunch. Start with massaged kale, add some freshly grated Manchego (mild Spanish sheep cheese that is just a little salty and definitely delicious), top with toasted walnuts and hard-boiled eggs and drizzle with this to-die-for dressing.

This dressing is very much like a Caesar dressing without the raw eggs. It’s lemony and creamy and deliciously flavoured with anchovies! It has enough acid in it from lemon juice to tenderize the kale.

If you’re still not sure about Kale Salads, thesetips will help make even the most ardent kale-hater into a convert.

Remove the inner stem or rib and any other tough ribs. Kale can be chewy and hearty.

Cut, don’t tear. Slice into thin ribbons to make it easier to eat.

Massage it. Use a teaspoon or two of olive oil and gently massage the oil into the sliced kale ribbons. Massaging helps to break down the tough fibers and tenderize the kale.

Combine it with strong-flavoured foods like cheese, nuts, seeds, or fruit such as oranges or berries. Kale needs something to complement its earthy flavour.

Let it rest. Toss it with the dressing, but wait to serve it. Give the vinegar or lemon juice in the dressing time to soften the kale a little.

Choose Lacinato Kale (also called Dinosaur Kale, Black Kale or Tuscan Kale) for salads. The curly kale is great sautéed or stir-fried, but it can be a little tough in a salad.

Wondering how to avoid that grey ring around your hard-boiled eggs? While there are lots of methods for making perfect hard-boiled eggs circulating on the Internet, this tiny video might be helpful to you.

Comments

Thank you thank you thank you for the kale rules. I had already figured out that kale stems were tough and had to go sometimes, but never knew the difference between the black and curly kale in terms of salads. I have noticed that kale salads do not go to goo after a day like leaf and Romaine lettuce ones often do, but rubbing in the dressing a bit makes sense.